The National Health Insurance Scheme, (NHIS) has said it would play it’s national role in an effort to rebuild health infrastructure in crisis ridden North- East geo-political zone of Nigeria.
NHIS Executive Secretary of NHIS, Prof. Muhammed Sambo who stated this in Abuja when a high level delegation from Borno State government paid a courtesy visit on him in the Scheme’s head office said, explained the importance of putting in place an effective healthcare financing system for effective healthcare delivery.
He said development is unbalanced without infrastructure to support critical services such as healthcare while outlining the pledge for assistance to the region.
He also said the process of accrediting healthcare facilities in Bomo State by the Scheme had began, affirming that the accreditanon exercise would be fast-tracked and spedal consideration accorded the state against the backdrop of the security challenges it is currently expenencing.
Prof. Sambo said, the Scheme’s intervention through its various service platforms will improve the health indices in the region, adding that its state offices across the country were being strengthened with skilled and relevant personnel as well as infrastructure to address identified shortcomings in the 36 states and the FCT.
Also highlighting benefits of synergy between NHIS and State Health Insurance Agencies, he said, achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the country was a task that can be achieved when all stakeholders within the health insurance ecosystem collaborate effectively, expressing the optimism that UHC was achievable within the set ten-year dmeline.
He also proferred ways of speeding up healthcare coverage also stating that in months from now the business processes of the Scheme will be fully automated, adding that critical and relevant equipment were being deployed to states as part of overall effort to set up the e-NHIS platform.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation, Prof. Isa Marte Hussaini, who is the chief of Staff to the Governor of Borno State expressed regrets over the damage caused by insurgency in the state, noung that healthcare infrastructure such as hospitals have been destroyed in the decade-long battle against insurgents.
Hussaini who also heads the Bomo State Ministry of Health said the delegation was seeking the assistance of the Scheme in speedy accreditation of its healthcare facilites as well as technical support for enrolment of vulnerable groups in the state.
prof. Hussaini who expressed gratitude for the audience granted by the ES, observed that ICT equipment deployed by the scheme in the state health insurance agency had been installed.
He said the insurgency has displaced at least one million people in the Borno state.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme {NHIS}, Prof MN Sambo has taken receipt of the first batch of the NHIS enrollee identity cards from NIGCOMSAT, the technical partner handling the process.
During a brief ceremony at the Corporate Head Office of the Scheme, Prof. Sambo stated that the identity cards represented a significant milestone in the path to automation of the NHIS business processes, adding that when e-NHIS comes on stream fully, enrollment activities such as registration, change of provider and cthers will be less aambersome.
He said the NHIS identity card symbolizes the Scheme’s commitment to access to quality healthcare for all Nigerians, observing that the Scheme had not produced identity cards for years.
